All week long Ohio State coaches and players expressed a desire to “make some noise” in the program’s return to the NCAA tournament. I think that mission has been accomplished. Although they didn’t get the result they were looking for, the Bucks battled national No. 2 and top regional seed Minnesota-Duluth to a very loud overtime loss.
| scoring by period | 1 | 2 | 3 | ot | final |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. 4 Ohio State | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| No. 1 Minnesota-Duluth | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
The Buckeyes worked hard, hustled on every shift, and made very few mistakes. In the opening period their scoring chances were superior in both quality and quantity to the Bulldogs'. Matt Tomkins was a model of calm, boring, reboundless goaltending. Aside from not notching the game's first goal, the first period could not have been better for Ohio State.
Truthfully, I'm not so sure that they didn't score the opening goal late in that period. On the power play with about three minutes to play in the frame Dave Gust appeared to roll a puck up over the shoulder of UMD goalie Hunter Miska. The netminder caught the puck behind his back and spun away from the goal line but not before the official signaled, emphatically, for a goal. The play was reviewed at length. Apparently the officials found conclusive evidence to overturn the original call.
| buckeye goal scorers | pd | time |
|---|---|---|
| Matt Joyaux (Kevin Miller, Dakota Joshua) | 3 | 7:09 |
| Gordi Myer (Tanner Laczynski) | 3 | 12:40 |
Instead of a 1-0 Buckeye advantage, the second period began in a scoreless tie though it did not remain scoreless for long. Dominic Toninato netted the ice breaker in the opening minute of the middle frame. He used his space and the Buckeye defenseman most effectively, firing from behind the screen and picking the top blocker corner on Tomkins.
The Bulldogs continued with a more aggressive attack throughout the second period. Toninato appeared to strike again, finishing a fortunate bounce off the end wall. However upon further review (the slogan of this regional apparently), he only nicked the crossbar.
UMD did go ahead 2-0 at the 13:41 mark. Nick Wolff wired a seeing-eye shot through traffic that managed to miss about six players before denting the twine. Though Tomkins struggled to stop what he couldn't see, he was stellar in fending off the shots he did get a good look at. He make a number of key stops in the second period including this spectacular stick save.
That is just RIDICULOUS! pic.twitter.com/GDHI1GDu2N
— NCAA Ice Hockey (@NCAAIceHockey) March 25, 2017
While Tomkins held the Bucks in the game, his teammates kept trucking, searching for their first score. They finally broke through with about 13 minutes to go. A play that started with an offensive zone faceoff win ended with Matt Joyaux ripping this beauty.
We have a game in Fargo!
— NCAA Ice Hockey (@NCAAIceHockey) March 25, 2017
GOAL - Matt Joyaux for @OhioState_MHKY. pic.twitter.com/aK1KFIAEn1
Ohio State was within a goal of Duluth and the Buckeyes weren't done yet. With seven minutes to go Tanner Laczynski set up Gordi Myer. The freshman defender blasted home his first collegiate goal and tied the game up, 2-2.
Don't call it a comeback!
— NCAA Ice Hockey (@NCAAIceHockey) March 25, 2017
Ohio State and Minnesota Duluth now tied at 2. Gordi Myer with the equalizer. pic.twitter.com/Y4ye9AHISP
The momentum was solidly on Ohio State's side through the remainder of regulation. They swarmed the UMD net again and again. Gust nearly netted a go ahead goal but he was once again stymied by a highlight reel save from Miska.
Miska would continue to be a thorn in the Bucks’ side in overtime. The Duluth netminder made stop after quality stop in the extra session. He stoned Gust twice more, made a toe save on Mason Jobst’s stuff attempt and a stick save on a Nick Schilkey shot labeled for the top corner. Joyaux hit the post. The Buckeyes could not buy a goal.
Call the cops!@UMDMensHockey's Hunter Miska just committed robbery! pic.twitter.com/h4dXcewQwC
— NCAA Ice Hockey (@NCAAIceHockey) March 25, 2017
Steve Rohlik credited the UMD goalie with the Bulldogs' ultimate victory, saying, "You can’t ask for better chances than what we had. [Miska] just flat out made some unbelievable saves."
Minnesota-Duluth didn’t generate much in the way of offense for the first 10 or 12 minutes of the period. However, once the Bulldogs finally manufactured an extended shift in the Ohio State zone, Willie Raskob hammered the game winner past the outstretched blocker of Tomkins for the victory.
WINNER, WINNER!@UMDMensHockey moves on with 3-2 win vs Ohio State courtesy of goal by Willie Raskob. pic.twitter.com/kI68Tg86Ly
— NCAA Ice Hockey (@NCAAIceHockey) March 25, 2017
Although this isn't the result they wanted the Buckeyes can certainly walk away from this game with their heads held high. The team worked its collective rear off tonight. The Bucks battled all game long for every loose puck, every faceoff, every square inch of ice. They more than answered Rohlik's call for "a little extra” and they deserved better than they got.
At the end of the night, despite the result, the Buckeye coach was pleased with his team's effort. "I couldn’t be more proud of my club. They emptied their tanks and gave us a chance down 0-2 and our guys never quit. They never stopped talking positive on the bench and they believed we could win the whole time. Unfortunately we came up a little short tonight."
- Ohio State outshot Minnesota-Duluth 42-32 in the game.
- The Buckeyes - led by John Wiitala's 15-4 record - were decisive victors in the faceoff battle, winning 50 total draws to the Bulldogs' 33.
- The Scarlet and Gray outblocked UMD as well, 29-13. Janik Moser (5) and Tommy Parran (4) led the way for the Bucks.
- Check out the official boxscore as welll as a transcript of postgame comments from Steve Rohlik and Nick Schilkey.
